Nuclear Battery That Runs 10 Years
Jenny writes "A battery with a lifespan measured in decades is in development at the University of Rochester, as scientists demonstrate a new fabrication method that in its roughest form is already 10 times more efficient than current nuclear batteries -- and has the potential to be nearly 200 times more efficient. Similar to the way solar panels work by catching photons from the sun and turning them into current, the science of betavoltaics uses silicon to capture electrons emitted from a radioactive gas, such as tritium, to form a current. As the electrons strike a special pair of layers called a 'p-n junction,' a current results. I can imagine lots of applications for this new battery including my own laptop."
So now instead of just overheating... my laptop can have a total meltdown?
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
Betavoltaics? I'll wait until this radioactive battery is more... stable.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso
This will be awesome in iPods.
Until your mother launders it.
And you take a screwdriver to it.
And it flips you into orbit.
-- often wrong; never in doubt
Actually, you'd keep the battery and buy a new laptop for it every few years.
f u cn rd ths u cn gt a gd jb n cmptr prgmng